Nemegtosaurus

Nemegtosaurus is a Late Cretaceous titanosaur sauropod from the famous Nemegt Basin of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. Unlike the vast majority of sauropods, which are typically discovered without skulls, Nemegtosaurus was described from an exquisitely preserved cranium. It possessed an elongated, sloping snout packed with slender, pencil-like teeth concentrated at the front of the jaws, ideally adapted for cropping soft foliage and water plants. These features initially confused palaeontologists into classifying it as a late-surviving diplodocoid relative, but modern anatomical and phylogenetic analyses place it firmly within the Titanosauria. The animal is estimated to have measured roughly twelve to fifteen metres long. Intriguingly, some researchers have suggested that Nemegtosaurus may actually represent the missing skull of Opisthocoelicaudia, a headless sauropod discovered in the very same rock unit, though this remains an open question.

It was originally thought to be a diplodocoid due to its elongated skull and pencil-like teeth before being recognised as a titanosaur.

Where and when

Nemegtosaurus lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 72.1 to 66 million years ago (Maastrichtian age). Its remains come from Mongolia, in the Nemegt Formation.

The numbers

Length 14 m (estimates run from 12 to 15 m). Mass about 5.3 t. Hip height about 3 m. That is 7.9 human-lengths, or 1.21 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

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